Ohio University’s Homecoming Week: A brief history

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via Wikipedia.com

Ohio University’s 2015 Homecoming, themed “Same Bricks, Different Stories,” will kick off its festivities October 5, culminating in the annual football game. This year, the Bobcats will take on the Redhawks of Miami University. The annual celebration has become a staple for current Bobcats as well as alumni who flock back to the red cobblestones of Athens for a weekend of, mostly, debauchery.

HOMECOMING PARADE

The yearly parade that takes place early Saturday morning of Homecoming Weekend usually has a route positioned somewhat on Court Street. In the past few years, the route has only followed a path down the street for a small portion of the parade.

This year, that amount was cut down even more as the parade will almost entirely bypass Court Street since it will go from Union Street to President Street.

The route was proposed by Ohio University’s Campus Involvement Center.

Members of the Athens Uptown Business Owners Association recently told “The Post” that they believe the route will have negative consequences for uptown stores.

Last year’s fire on Union Street that scorched several buildings on the street has left the half of the street blocked to through traffic.

HOMECOMING GAME

Ohio University will take on Miami University Saturday afternoon. In 1960, The Bobcats beat the Redhawks 21-0. This was also the beginning of the Bobcat mascot appearing at football games. That season, OU was awarded the title of the NCAA National College Division Champion and went undefeated with a final record of 10-0.

The Bobcat mascot, now an integral part of pumping up the crowd in Peden Stadium during football games, has undergone many changes. The original mascot was paper mache and eventually went through several transitions to become the furry friend we know and love today.

The MARCHING 110

Ohio University’s marching band has had a history spanning nearly 100 years since its creating in 1923. A student named Homer Baird started the then new on-campus group. A new band director, Gene Thraikill, joined the band in 1966 and instated new uniforms and brought a new, energetic marching style to the group. However, he also kicked out all women from the band as well as all female majorettes.

Following heavy media scrutiny and pushback from people on campus, women were allowed back into the Marching Band in 1975.

In 2007, CollegeSports-fans.com ranked The Marching 110 the best college marching band in America. The band once again was ranked at the top of that list in 2014.

Cinema News also included the band in their 2014 list of “100 Things We Can’t Wait To See This College Football Season.”

The Marching 110 participated in the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade.

Several videos of the band have gone viral online since the members typically cover contemporary songs during their halftime football game performances.